Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / SATP Ep.44 Part II feat. Tobey Schulman

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SATP Ep.44 Part II feat. Tobey Schulman · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:00
About six days ago, we were getting ready for for a podcast
0:05
and we were just about to hop on and all of a sudden, rock is
0:10
like, Devers just got traded. So it's like he's like, he's
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like, what the heck, Devers just got traded.
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So, yeah, the, you know, Rafael Devers traded, the Boston Red
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Sox, traded him and his $313 million contract for
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right-hander Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, left-hander James
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Tibbs and Jose Baio. So let's talk a bit about that
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trade and how it shocked the world.
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Yeah, that one. Was exactly what you said
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shocked the world in terms of trades that have just really
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taken me by surprise like that. The only one I can compare it to
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is in, in terms of baseball at least, because in basketball, I
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mean, we could go pretty recent examples, But in baseball, I
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mean, the Mookie Betts trade was by far the, the most surprising
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trade that I could probably only relate this to.
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And of course, it's the Red Sox to do it.
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Don't understand the return. I, I, I really don't.
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I, I think they got, and not just me, but I think everyone
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thinks they got absolutely pleased.
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And while I can sit here and say they got a couple good pieces
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back, I say this all the time, you can't it it just doesn't
1:20
justify trading a guy like Raphael Devers.
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So this is my initial thoughts when that trade happened, like
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how Rob reacted to a certain extinct.
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I don't know if it was all that, but I was pretty shocked
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overall. It's like first and foremost,
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I'm just trying to wrap my head around it's like 1 He's no
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longer in the AL ES. I think we could all all say
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it's touché to that because Rafael Devers owned the Blue
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Jays right during his time. 2 Like you said, I think a lot has
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to do with the ownership overall.
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Think about this for one second. He was the last player to be in
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that 2018 World Series squad. There's no no guys there
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anymore. So they're they're building up
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completely different team now. And you know, when Dever signed
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that contract, I believe it was Kind Bloom that that that gave
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him that contract. And now he's with Saint Louis
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now he got fired. And, you know, you got to give
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credit to Kind Bloom for building that farm the way it's
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at today because if it weren't for him, I mean, these type of
2:24
situations wouldn't happen. And, you know, San Francisco has
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been looking for a big bat for quite some time.
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As you can see that they were in on Otani, they were in on Aaron
2:33
Judge. They signed Correa to that
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contract for two days before they didn't feel comfortable
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with the medical reports. And now they acquired Devers.
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And you know, a lot of Red Sox fans are very disappointed that
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Bryce Eldridge wasn't in that deal, right?
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So you have, you have to see that how those players turn out
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to be. I mean, James Tibbs I believe
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was a first round pick last year and he's a intriguing player.
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I don't know if he lives up to the Devers potential at all.
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Because in your mindset when you're doing a deal like that,
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you're trying to get at least one, if not 2 and someone close
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to the Devers potential. And I don't know if I see it in
3:11
this industry. Carl Harrison could be a
3:13
formidable rotational piece for them.
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Jordan Hicks is, I think it was just a throw in because salary
3:19
preferences. So overall, you know what, good
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on the Giants for doing it. But and also I'll give one thing
3:26
about the Red Sox about this. It gives them flexibility to do
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what they need to do long term, right?
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Let's just say if they have to sign Roman Anthony to a long
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term deal, they could do that Marcela Mayer as well, right and
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they do need pitching as well. That that I think that to me is
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so important because the Red Sox pitching is is a deficiency,
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especially in the minors. So they have to start building
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from there. Like I believe Miguel Bliss is
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one of the top processor. He hasn't been the same ever
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since he's been injured, right. So overall you have to you have
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to look at the long term solution.
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But hey, I'm not, I'm not losing sleep, whichever is not being in
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that division anymore or in the AAL itself, right?
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So you. Know me neither.
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That was a that was a great trade, man, from our standpoint.
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I mean, like, I mean, I I agree, though, I I don't know how you
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can justify trading a guy that you just gave a bit massive
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extension to who was supposed to be the cornerstone of your
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franchise. To me, it's Mookie Betts thing
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all over again, man, Except, you know, this was a little bit more
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like messy, I guess, with, with, with Devours and the front
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office. And I saw something that today
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that that, that that big Poppy said about, you know, Devours,
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like, you know, he's like, you know, like you can't, he, he
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almost said you can't help a guy that doesn't want to help
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himself kind of and, and, and to me, Devours, you know, he didn't
5:02
want to take his advice and, and, and, you know, he let
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things get out of control and they had to trade him away.
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But why would you trade him right now, though, like in the
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middle of, you know, just out of nowhere and then you sweep the
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Yankees too, Like you sweep the Yankees and then you trade away
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your franchise player. Like the timing was just bad,
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man. The optics are bad.
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Like, I don't know if if Kyle Harrison's going to be this, you
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know, like he was one of the best left-handed pitching
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prospects in the miners when he was coming up.
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But I mean, you know, like, you know, he hasn't really shown it
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at the Major League level yet. So I love the trade for for San
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Francisco. You know, they've they've tried
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for how long to get their guy. They tried with Judge, they
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tried with Correa, they tried with with, but you know, they
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got a dynamist this year. But I mean like superstar, like
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they finally got their superstar man.
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So I'd be good for them I guess. Do you know, you know what's so
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funny about that, Rob? You know how David Ortiz said
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something Pedro Martinez actually said the opposite of
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what David Ortiz said. Oh wow.
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It's so incredible to think a guy like Pedro, and you know
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what, man, Pedro Martinez is one of the best pitchers I've
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witnessed in my lifetime. Maybe, if not so badly.
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He's. So if two former teammates from
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the Red Sox have difference of an opinion, what does that tell
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you about the Red Sox as an organization itself?
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It's just not a good look. It's overall John Henry.
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I don't think he's a good owner, period.
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I feel like he's going to screw this thing up.
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I think Craig Brezzo is not good enough of AGM like and I get the
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whole analytics perspective coming from the Cubs
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organization and all and people are high are high on him, but
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you need a guy who knows how to build a system need to build a
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farm. Another bad trade lot of people
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forget about this was trading Chris Sale to the Braves for von
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Grisham and von Grisham has been a nobody.
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Chris Sale has won a Cy Young lot of people forget about that.
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So that to me is awful. And, and The thing is that where
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does Bregman stand in all this? What is on Crochet's mind, I
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guess? And these guys are professional
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players. Obviously, they're going to keep
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going, of course, and try to continue to try to contribute,
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right? So they do have a nice young
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team, I'll give it that. But at the same time, what is
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this direction to see? Are they buyers?
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Are they going to stand pat? Are they going to sell some of
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their assets? Like, I don't know.
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But I'm curious to see what they do this year.
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The Red Sox? Yeah, it'd be interesting to see
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for sure. All right.
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If they still have sail today, though, they they could be
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leading that division. Sure.
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Like, I mean, yeah, I get it. He got hurt.
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But I mean, up until now he's been a pretty damn good.
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He's had a pretty good season. So I mean, you know, and they're
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not that far out. So, you know, and then and then
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they go to trade Devers and it's like, you know, they're who
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trades their star player when they're like what, 4 1/2, five
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and a half games out. Like it's it's stupidity.
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So the next question I want to talk about, and this is all our
8:17
teams, right? So the landscape of the AL East,
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like we see the Yankees, they're in first place right now.
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The raids have been raids and Jades have been hanging around
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being second, third. And the Red Sox are the other
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team that's starting to play a little bit better lately.
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The surprise team to me is Baltimore.
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So Toby, what's your thoughts about how this AL East has
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turned out and what do you expect moving forward?
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So I'm surprised at the fact that Boston is where they are.
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I guess you could say I'm also surprised about Baltimore.
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I thought this whole division was going to be really
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competitive and it just seems like the top half is really the
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only competitive part of it. But I I can't sit here and say I
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didn't expect Toronto to be competitive.
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The Rays had pieces that I knew if they lived up to the hype and
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obviously you guys know, I'm, you know, Ethan got me well,
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well into the hype with the Rays this year and guys like Brandon
9:11
Lau, Junior Cominero, Jonathan Aranda.
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So I knew that the pieces were there and that if they if they
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worked out for him this year, that they would be able to hang
9:19
around this division. We'll see if they can sustain
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that the whole year through, but Boston and and Baltimore being
9:25
there really surprised me. And Baltimore's rotation and and
9:27
their staff as a whole, you could have definitely looked at
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and have said, oh, I don't know how anyone expected this to
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actually work when you could throw guys like Segano and
9:35
Morton out there consistently. But I didn't expect guys like
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Adley Rutchman to slump that hard.
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I didn't expect their offense to really did not take off like it
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did at the start and very surprising to see him at this
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point. I believe they're 12 games back.
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So it's it's been brutal for the bottom half of this Al ES.
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But in terms of the top half, I mean, it's been must watch
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baseball every single day. So this is how I look at it and
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I expected four teams to come out of the al ES.
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One of the hardest predictions I had to to look at background
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rights because like you could say, the Red Sox were probably
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the most hyped in that division because they made the big moves,
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getting Bregman, getting Walker Buehler, getting Geraldus
10:23
Chapman, getting crochet. And and now, you know, they're
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fourth place in that division. And it doesn't surprise me to an
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extent that their pitching is not good enough.
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Their depth is a problem. Their injuries have been a
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problem, right. So overall, I mean, the AL ES is
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always going to be the most competitive division, probably
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that in the Nos in my opinion, because the last 25 years go, if
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you look at the way it was structured, it's been the AL ES
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like Boston's always been relevant until the last few
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years, the Jays, the Jays, I feel like they have the sense of
11:03
urgency to win now, especially now giving Vlad that contract
11:06
extension. So and they had a problem with
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recruiting free agents because there was uncertainty until Vlad
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signed and you know, Kirk getting extension and signing
11:15
Santander. So I mean, it's it's crazy to
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think that the Tampa Bay Rays, I did predict him to win the
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division. I told this to Ethan when he was
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here, believe it or not. So the Rays just are the Rays
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like just look at the way they are like.
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So I was talking to Ethan about this while back and I told him
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that that arose arena deal they did.
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They got Aiden Smith and Brody Hopkin, who could be very big
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players for him down the road as well, right?
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And there's a saying there whenever you do the deal with
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the devil, it always going to backfire.
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Like, for example, if you remember that Peretis was
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traded, traded to the Rays, I think from was it the Cubs or
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the Tigers? One of the other two, I think it
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was Tigers, right, Because the the Tigers acquired Austin
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medals and it was Peretis and another player.
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And Peretis turned out to be the better player in Austin Meadows.
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I don't think he's even playing baseball anymore, right?
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So it's it's nuts that the Rays are always the Rays.
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I'm curious to see are they actually buyers?
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Because remember, they're playing in the Yankees affiliate
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stadium and Hal Steinbrenner, right?
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So the Yankees are getting 1,000,000 per game I think every
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time they play there. So you keep that in mind.
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So I'm, I don't know what the Rays are going to do when it
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comes to buying. They should be buyers.
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But now with the whole transition with the ownership
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that's going on, like what are your thoughts about that?
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Like there's a, there's a report about that, like with the whole
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transition with the ownership. Ownership stuff's always such a
12:56
mess that I tend to try and keep my, my eye away from it, but it,
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it's cool. I mean, like I'm, I'm interested
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to see what happens with it. I'm not really, you know, too
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sure on the logistics of what, you know, the, the projected
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thing is going to happen, if there even is a projected thing
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that's going to happen. But I, I just hope that you
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know, whoever you know, that buys the team that they're going
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to operate at least similar to the way they operate now,
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because I think we can all agree that it's really fun to see the
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race do this on a year to year basis.
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Oh, absolutely, it definitely is.
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It's fun. It's not fun if you're in the at
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least so and you got to deal with those tests every year.
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But Yep, yeah, it's definitely they're definitely a team that
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you know, and Rocky was right, man.
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You know, I thought this was the year that they were going to
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take a step back. But before the season he thought
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he he made a prediction that they were going to win the
13:50
division. Now, I don't know if they win
13:51
the division, but they are definitely in the running right
13:55
now to, you know, to, you know, competing for that, you know,
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with with the Blue Jays and and even the Red Sox on a lesser
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scale. But I don't know how they do
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after the Devers trade. But but yeah, the Rays are just
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an interesting team that always seems to be in it year in a year
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out. When it comes to the AL ES as a
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whole, nothing's changed. It's still a tough division.
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Every year there seems to be a team that's like having a bad
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year. You know, I think two years ago
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it was the Yankees. You know, last year it was the
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Blue Jays. This year it seems to be the
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Orioles. So, you know, like usually 4 out
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of five of those teams are great in it.
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And I believe right now as it stands, at least it was, there's
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four teams in the currently in a playoff spot in the at least I
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believe. So that's that's that tells you
14:50
right there what the division is.
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I want to ask you guys this question here.
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I want to talk about the Baltimore Orioles for a little
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bit and I'm curious to see what your thoughts are.
15:01
So they thought that they made Corbin Burns the offer.
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They didn't give the highest bid.
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Of course, right now a Corbin Burns Arizona unfortunately
15:10
ended up getting, he's getting ended up getting Tommy Johnny's
15:12
out till this year and most of next year.
15:16
But if you look at that team, they have a plethora of
15:20
additional players and their pitching has been an issue of
15:23
developing. Could you see the draft pitching
15:30
finally in in in the in this year's draft, next year's draft
15:33
and beyond? And what do you think their
15:35
window Wiz are winning because they have yet to sign anyone to
15:39
an extension. Yeah, the Orioles are in a
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really interesting spot here. I my first mock I did this year
15:47
for this draft, I had them taking a high school arm and a
15:50
lot of people didn't seem to like that.
15:52
I pivoted from that, I believe my second time around.
15:55
But in terms of what they look like in their, their, I guess
16:00
their window of winning, I mean, it's not it's not closing
16:04
anytime soon. They still got the core
16:05
together. They've got Holiday, Westberg,
16:08
Henderson, Rutherman, all the guys they need to to make
16:12
something happen. Even Colton Cowser was
16:13
incredible last year. So when they can all put it
16:16
together it I think they will have a year where they where
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they really make a big push for it.
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Don't really know when that's going to be, but I think it
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probably will be soon. But that's an interesting
16:26
question about drafting an arm. I don't I don't know if they
16:28
will draft an arm because they've gotten some great guys
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out of, you know, position picks.
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So I don't know, I'd say the window starts to close if they
16:36
lose maybe one of these bigger pieces like like an adly or or a
16:44
gunner. I just don't see that really
16:45
happening. I mean, I hope, I hope that they
16:48
go out and pay these guys is all I'm all I'm hoping for.
16:51
But like you kind of already mentioned, they haven't extended
16:54
anybody. So it doesn't really make you
16:56
feel too optimistic about this team when in reality they
16:59
probably do still have a very bright future.
17:03
Yeah, it's when it comes to the Orioles, they're they're
17:07
interesting because it's I, they like the position players,
17:10
they're stacked, but the pitching has always been a
17:12
problem. So drafting an arm would make
17:16
sense. But like you said, they've had
17:18
so much success in drafting guys that and they don't even have to
17:23
be first round picks, man. They they nailed their like like
17:26
Gunner was the second round pick.
17:27
Like they nailed like those, you know, you know, picks that
17:31
aren't top picks, like, you know, so I mean, do they need
17:37
arms? Yes, like they went out and
17:39
traded for was it Trevor Rogers last year?
17:43
It was in a trade that I didn't seem to connect with.
17:48
Like, it didn't make much sense. Yeah.
17:50
It was very weird, Right. So and then you have like, I
17:54
love, I absolutely love Grayson Rodriguez as a pitcher, but he
17:59
can't stay healthy, you know, if the health is getting away.
18:02
So drafting an arm would make a ton of sense.
18:06
But whether they do it or not is But not.
18:09
But as far as their window closing, yeah, I don't.
18:12
I don't think it's necessarily closing anytime soon.
18:19
So this is how I feel about this.
18:21
So you burned a year while guys like Adly Rushman, Jordan
18:26
Westberg, Colon Calories or all these guys are relatively cheap
18:30
because as the years go by, once they hit arbitration, they're no
18:34
longer cheap anymore. Rob and I have witnessed this as
18:38
Blue Jays fans, right when it comes to these players, right?
18:41
So like we had a tea Oscar, we had a Guriel, we had a flat and
18:45
we had a bow and and so on so far.
18:48
And they had to let go of a couple of guys.
18:50
I get those guys expensive. Then they didn't feel
18:52
comfortable meeting up to their asking prices right at the time,
18:55
but now they kind of have to, right?
18:57
Because obviously, especially when you're extended guy like
18:59
Vlad, it's such an important part of what the organization
19:04
is. That's why I think to me, Gunner
19:06
Henderson needs to get signed at some point because the longer
19:11
this keeps dragging, not getting an extension, there is going to
19:15
be other teams that are going to be knocking on the door to see
19:19
what they can get for him. Because if you saw a report,
19:22
like they're throwing it out, they're already about Paul
19:25
Skeens being traded, which I don't think he will.
19:27
But I mean, knowing that ownership and this is where it
19:30
all begins, like you have to do what it takes to lock up guys to
19:36
long term extensions, right? Because one, it's a PR move.
19:40
Two, you when you go to games, you want to see the best of the
19:43
best, right? So and you know, you can't blame
19:46
the Orioles fans because they tanked for so many years to get
19:49
to where they at right now, right?
19:51
They have a Vance Honeycutt in their system.
19:53
They got a Enrique Bradfield in there.
19:55
They've got a Judd Fabian in their system, got all these
19:58
talented players. They also got Kobe Mayo, who's
20:00
been struggling since he's been called up.
20:02
Jackson Holiday's been up and down right and and.
20:06
What's his name? Heston Kerstad was the number
20:09
two pick in 2020, and he hasn't lived up to its expectations at
20:13
all. And he's not getting any
20:14
younger. So you're going to have to make
20:17
a decision on some of these situations.
20:18
And you have to start thinking about giving some deals, like
20:22
like I would start off with a Westbrook or Cold Couch or if
20:26
they can get a relatively cheap extension and then focus on the
20:28
bigger guys after. And another question is, where
20:31
do you play Sam Bazaio? Like he's MLB ready, but the
20:35
problem is he's blocked with Adly Rushman.
20:38
Like what are they going to do with that as well?
20:40
Like are you going to keep Adly Rushman and play Basilo in a
20:42
different position or you're going to you're going to trade
20:45
Rushman? You could get a substantial
20:47
haul, like a massive haul and and create chaos and bring up
20:51
Basilo. So I don't know, it's
20:53
fascinating to see where that goes.
20:55
I don't know if you have any other thoughts about that.
20:58
With Pasalo, I think really with him, I think O'hearn could be
21:01
the trade piece for them, that he's having such a good season
21:04
and he's ready to come up. He could play first base.
21:07
So I think that's, in my opinion, a no brainer.
21:10
We'll see if the Orioles decide to actually go about doing that,
21:13
but I think O'hearn is going to be in different threats here.
21:15
In a few weeks, yeah, I agree. I was actually saying that
21:19
earlier today in a group chat that we're in that he would be a
21:23
guy. And I know that I don't think
21:25
that the Orioles would trade with the Blue Jays, but he would
21:28
be a bat like he'd be a perfect bat for a team looking to
21:32
upgrade because he's just he's he's a good hitter, man.
21:36
Ever since he left Kansas City, he's been he's been really good
21:41
man. He can, he has power, you know,
21:43
sneaky power, you know, and and he always hits for a high
21:47
average big contact guy on base guy.
21:51
So yeah, he's definitely going to be a trade asset for them
21:54
come the trade deadline. But Speaking of the trade
21:57
deadline, I wanted to ask you guys this question about with so
22:02
many teams being in the mix and we even look at last year's
22:07
trade deadline as you know, it's, it's, it's clearly a
22:10
seller's market. So how do you think this?
22:15
What are your opinions of what might happen at this trade
22:18
deadline and who are some guys that you might think might be
22:21
moved so? I've been starting to look into
22:25
more guys that I think will be moved by some sellers here at
22:29
this deadline. And the first thing I think of
22:33
obviously being a Yankee fan is that third base thought.
22:36
And so I just think of what third baseman are going to get
22:38
moved and you know, we mentioned O her and he's not a third
22:40
baseman, but that's a piece that I think is is going to get
22:43
moved. Eugenio Suarez from the
22:46
Diamondbacks, I'd be very surprised to not see get moved.
22:50
There's too much power there and where they are in the standing 7
22:53
1/2 games back. I don't think there's really any
22:55
reason to keep him when you've got guys like Jordan Lawler in
22:58
your system. And then, you know, you look at
23:02
the Rockies, I mean, they didn't deal Ryan McMahon last year.
23:05
He's kind of dropped off a little bit in production, but I
23:07
still think A-Team like the Yankees would take him in a
23:09
heartbeat. So I think those two guys are
23:11
probably going to end up getting moved.
23:14
I think Jake Bird was a name that's come up a lot with the
23:16
Rockies, but I'm not sure if they're going to move him
23:18
because it's kind of similar to Mason Miller where he has so
23:21
many years of control left that they might want to just hang on
23:24
to him and see, you know, they could piece together some sort
23:27
of a good roster. So that's going to be
23:29
interesting to watch there as well.
23:33
Those are really the like 3-4 guys that I've heard the most
23:37
right now. I'm not sure if you guys have a
23:40
ton of, you know, a lot of other different guys, but I think
23:43
those right now are a lot of the names that I've just seen flying
23:46
around the most. I think we're going to see some
23:50
surprise trades because the way the market's being dictated
23:53
because like if you look at the rentals right now, like like you
23:56
said, Suarez would be one of them.
23:57
I do think that Gallon and Merrill will get traded as well
24:02
at some point. You would have to, you have to
24:03
say, because Arizona apparently has some financial issues and
24:07
they're trying to cut some salary, right?
24:09
Because now that Corbin burns out for the year, I believe
24:12
Carol, I think is undergoing an MRI with his hand,
24:15
unfortunately, right? He's one of the bright young
24:18
stars in today's sport. I think with with the Marlins, I
24:24
mean, Sandy would be the guy. I mean, he's been pitching.
24:26
He's been pitching a lot better lately, right?
24:29
So I believe the last three starts, he's finally showing
24:33
that he he could be a player for them.
24:38
But I mean, if if you look at the Pirates and I do want the
24:43
Jays to go after him, it's Mitch Keller.
24:45
I know his record says it's done Santa because he's playing in
24:50
such a bad organization. And I do think the Jays doing to
24:54
get need to get a starting pitcher beyond this year because
24:58
you got Bassett coming off the books you got sure they're
25:00
coming off the books you got cause Gossman coming off the
25:02
books the year after and Barrios has a player option after 26.
25:06
So I do think starting pitching market is out there.
25:09
But you know, I was talking to some Jays fans and Rob, we could
25:11
chime in on this. Would you want to Jacob degrom
25:16
on your team? He's healthy again.
25:18
Yes, he had two Tommy John surgeries.
25:20
But if he's healthy enough, right?
25:25
Could you see him being traded in this trade deadline?
25:31
The contractors? Hefty, isn't it?
25:33
How many years? How many years are left?
25:35
I think he has three, two or three after this year.
25:38
I could be mistaken, right? So.
25:40
That's a hefty contract. I mean, I would love him.
25:44
I if if it was like just say our team trading for him, I would
25:47
love it. Like I mean, he's been
25:51
phenomenal this year and he he's one of them pitchers who's
25:54
gotten he knows his body now he knows you know, he knows that he
25:59
doesn't have to throw every pitch 99.
26:03
You know, like he he's getting outs, he's getting lifts, he's
26:07
getting he's still doing the things that make him Jake
26:10
Degrom. He's just, he's just doing it in
26:13
a different way, man. So personally, I don't know.
26:18
I just the the health is is is a concern when you're taking on
26:22
that type of money. But the player I got no issues
26:26
with with him helping a roster and I just don't know if a team
26:31
is willing to take on all that money, that's all.
26:37
What do you think, Toby, about that?
26:40
I don't because I don't think the Rangers are going to sell
26:42
so. Oh, you think they're buyers?
26:45
That's. Another thing, if they.
26:46
They just have too good of a roster to to sell.
26:48
Honestly, they they really do. They're I thought the Rangers
26:52
were they were my AL Pennant winning picks.
26:54
So I mean, I I'm going to be coming with the fact that
26:57
they're just going to buy in and try to work with what they with
27:00
with whatever they got. But I mean, I, I think everybody
27:04
would love would love to Grom on their team if they could get
27:07
them, regardless of what that contract is.
27:08
I mean, that's that you're getting vintage to Grom right
27:11
now. Yeah, I mean, I mean, The thing
27:15
is like with the Rangers, I, I think this is Bocce's final
27:19
year, I believe so. So I think they want to try to
27:23
go all in. Like you said, it's very
27:24
possible. It's just that, it's just that
27:28
the ALAL itself, like we haven't seen so much mediocrity in such
27:34
a long time. And I do think teens will pony
27:37
up to go get the players they want because one, we got the CBA
27:42
coming up after 26, which we'll get to near the end of the
27:45
episode. But it's it's going to be
27:50
intriguing to see who's willing to do what it takes to try to,
27:54
you know, push their poker chips to go on a win now mode.
27:56
And if they're willing to give up a significant asset, which,
27:59
you know, I worry about the Jays because it took a couple years
28:03
for the Jays to build the farm, right?
28:05
So to be where it's at today. So, Rob, you got a name?
28:09
Yeah, there's been, there's been talk about possibly the Brewers
28:15
moving Freddy Peralta, possibly. But I just, I look at the, I
28:24
look at the NL standings and I think I believe they're in
28:29
second place right now. So I'm not sure how if they're
28:35
gonna go out and, and, and trade him or not.
28:39
I mean, they traded Hayter. What was it?
28:42
Was it 2 years ago? Yeah.
28:45
And, and I and I believe that Freddy Peralta's in a similar
28:49
situation that Hayter was in with regards to his contract.
28:54
I mean, they're 3 1/2 games out of first place right now.
28:58
But the Cubs kind of, you know, been kind of spotty the past.
29:02
So right now they're in it. I mean, I don't, I don't really
29:05
see them moving a guy like that if they're in it, But you know,
29:09
they, they just, they, they what traded some volley already for
29:13
Andrew Vaughn. So I, I mean a flyer so but
29:20
yeah, Freddy Peralta would be a fantastic get for a team.
29:23
I think he'd be the top pitching prospect on the market.
29:27
I would say Chris Sale. But apparently Alex Anthropolis
29:31
had turned down the idea of even remotely thinking about selling
29:36
sales. So yeah, I don't, I don't, I
29:39
don't, I don't think they trade Chris Sale.
29:41
But if I was Atlanta and I wasn't in it though, there would
29:44
be some guys on that roster like like or some Luzuna that I think
29:50
could help a team that you could get something for.
29:53
And I and I would definitely ship him off.
29:57
So let let me get to the next question here.
29:59
Let me get to the next question here.
30:01
So the next question I want to get into is give me a surprise
30:06
name that could be traded out of nowhere.
30:09
It's like the difference situation that I thought
30:12
difference was going to get traded in the offseason, right?
30:15
But he got traded in the middle of the year, right.
30:17
So Rob, you could you could you could answer that.
30:21
Which name do you think could could start out?
30:24
Could be a surprise player that could get traded?
30:28
Surprise player. Yeah.
30:31
You know, I honestly, I would say, you know, and we haven't
30:38
really heard too much about this guy's name, but you kind of
30:41
mentioned him earlier. Mitch Keller, I think Mitch
30:44
Keller could be moved. You know, it's, it's a, it's a
30:47
situation where they, you know, they could get the most for him
30:52
right now or whatever, you know, So with regards to his contract
30:56
and if, if the Brewers do slip off, I could see them selling
31:01
Freddy Peralta too. He's another guy.
31:03
But right now I I don't see it happening.
31:05
But there's a lot of time between now and the trade
31:08
deadline. But those are the two names that
31:09
I would throw out there. Toby.
31:13
I think that, you know, I, I was going to say Jaron Duran, I
31:17
don't see them making another surprise deal like that.
31:19
And I think Duran is going to stay put because they need some
31:21
kind of veteran presence on this team that's not Alex Bregman.
31:25
Luis Robare is a really interesting one because we talk
31:28
about him getting traded pretty much every single deadline, but
31:31
I think this is the time where he's actually going to get
31:33
traded. So I think the contender is
31:34
going to take he's going to take a risk on him.
31:37
He's not playing the best baseball, but he's also playing
31:39
in in Chicago, which is is not a fun place to play right now if
31:42
you're on the White Sox. So I think a change of scenery.
31:45
He goes back to being the star that we know he is.
31:48
And I think that's the the big name that's going to be dealt.
31:51
I don't think besides that, I really don't think there's going
31:53
to be a big surprise. I think that is Deborah's trade
31:55
was so big that it just is just shocked the league to the point
32:00
where they're not going to try anything crazy.
32:04
I'm going to, I'm going to say the opposite.
32:06
I think somebody from Minnesota is going to get traded and now
32:13
they're falling off like no tomorrow.
32:15
Now after coming off the 13 game winnings, I think they're now
32:18
under 500. They just got swept by the
32:20
Brewers. I think this is a grand
32:24
opportunity, them having financial depth.
32:26
I've been talking about the Twins like I'm waiting for them
32:29
to be sellers, which I think they are now, and could they
32:33
trade a Correa finally at this trade deadline, Could they trade
32:35
a could they trade a Byron Buxton this trade deadline?
32:39
I would be a trade because Buxton can never stay healthy.
32:44
And if there is an opportunity where you can trade them to try
32:47
to bring it because they got guys coming in their system.
32:49
They got a Walker Jenkins coming in his system.
32:51
They got Emmanuel Rodriguez coming in their system.
32:54
So they're loaded with the positional players.
32:56
It's their pitching is what's kind of lacking right now.
32:59
And I could see them doing a big deal somewhere.
33:02
And like you said, if Roberts, Roberts going to get traded, I
33:06
do think there's an opportunity for bucks in to get traded.
33:08
So that would be my name, right? Because like I said, the twins
33:13
twins need to figure out what the direction of that franchise
33:16
is, especially with their financial crisis right now.
33:23
Is there any other names you guys want to bring up?
33:25
I I'm, I'm trying to think if there's any other names that
33:28
could be out there. It's I.
33:30
Love the Boxing Day? Yeah, like I think I'll give you
33:34
I'll give you a name who I think could could be a surprise trait
33:38
is Lourdes Coriel Junior. I could see a Jays having a
33:41
reunion with them familiarity. I think he has, if they, if they
33:45
want to try to clear some money to do some, some offseason
33:49
moves, I could see him as well. I do think the Arizona
33:52
Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles could be the biggest
33:55
players in this year's trade deadline.
33:56
In my opinion. It's could you see the Marlins
33:59
being a player as well, like like trading as Jesus Sanchez
34:02
because I know he's an intriguing name.
34:04
I know the power we thought would be better.
34:06
He only has a few six or seven home runs, but I do think
34:09
there's an upside in him. Yeah, for sure.
34:12
No, I think the Marlins are going to be dealing a lot of
34:14
guys, as they always do, Yeah. We'll see if a team wants
34:17
Sanchez, I guess, yeah. What do you guys think about if
34:23
like the angels in addition to training 10 of Lords obviously
34:28
what if what about a guy like Luis Ren EFO or or even even
34:35
would they even consider moving You say Kikuchi after signing
34:39
him last year I. Think, you know, we went
34:43
Rengifo. I think the big thing with him
34:45
last year around this time was he just wasn't very healthy.
34:48
I think now people know a little bit more what they're getting
34:51
into with rengifo. So I think he will be traded and
34:54
I think they should trade a guy like Taylor Ward too.
34:56
They can get a ton of value for. They just have such a big young
35:01
core that I think they should really try and get some
35:03
something back for whatever guys on this team have value.
35:06
Because while they may not be out of it in this division,
35:09
they're not going to be competitive for the entire
35:11
stretch of the year. I think that's very safe to say.
35:14
It's so funny. It's so funny that you say that
35:17
because the Angels finally have something going with that team
35:20
now. Like Joe Adele's finally
35:22
becoming the player that he should have been a couple years
35:24
ago. Mike Trout's, Mike Trout.
35:27
And then you got the Nettles, you got the channels, you got
35:29
the Christian Moores now, you got the Hoppies now, right?
35:32
So it's like they're building something and you know, their
35:35
pitching is not as bad as people they think.
35:37
And like you said, like it's possible, right?
35:39
Because if they can't come to a deal with the contract, you have
35:42
to maximize your return as much as you possibly can.
35:46
Like I said, I'll probably retrace myself back to the Twins
35:50
because like I said, they have so many intriguing players, man.
35:55
Like my dream, my dream trade would be Joe Ryan to the Jays.
35:59
Man, that would that would like I asked Ethan about Joe Ryan.
36:04
He's like, we don't talk about that trade.
36:06
I start. It was like, Oh my God, like at
36:12
at that time, they did the trade because they felt like they had
36:14
enough depth to to facilitate such trade.
36:17
But Joe Ryan would be a great player for any any franchise
36:22
because he's he's a frontline starting pitcher that would help
36:24
for an organization. And and the thing about Joe Ryan
36:27
is he's healthy. Health is always key in today's
36:30
pitching, especially the way it's going with the injury rate.
36:33
So and Joanne Duran, I mean, I mean, he's one of the best
36:38
closers if they can get a massive hole in them.
36:40
You have to think about it, because I do think Felix Batista
36:43
is going to get traded in this trade deadline and they're going
36:45
to get a seismic haul in return, right?
36:47
So, and I'm going to give you one team who's going to be as
36:51
aggressive. I could see a team that could do
36:53
two players in one squad is the Philadelphia Phillies.
36:58
They need a closer, they need a left-handed bat.
37:01
I could see Mullins and and Batista going to the Phillies.
37:04
That's it. That's a type of trade, you
37:06
know, pack a deal like for both teams that that would make
37:09
sense. And and the Phillies had do have
37:11
the pitching prospects and they have the assets to get it done.
37:14
And I do think there's a chance that make a bell could be dealt
37:18
to protect Andrew Painter. So that's how I look at it and
37:21
it's interesting. Yeah, because you're not
37:24
trading, you're not trading both a bell and and Painter.
37:28
If you're going to trade the right now guy, the Orioles need
37:31
guys with under control. A bell is a right now guy.
37:34
Andrew Painter is the is untouchable.
37:37
Like I said, you don't trade top prospects.
37:40
So if you're going to protect from from trading Andrew Painter
37:43
make a bell is a guy because they're going to get Aaron Nola
37:46
back at some point. Jesus, Lizardo still with this
37:49
team and they move Tayon Walker to the bullpen and and they're
37:53
going to put all their chips in. You have to also remember
37:55
Schwarber is a free agent after this year.
37:57
Ranger Suarez is a free agent after this year.
38:00
So they're in an all in mode, right?
38:02
That's how I look at it. Yeah, so, so earlier this
38:07
season, there was a close trade from, I believe it was the
38:11
Phillies to for Mason Miller that included Andrew Painter.
38:15
And I believe it was Alec Paul. And I think it was Justin
38:21
Crawford too, I believe. And to me, that's a stupid haul
38:26
for for a team to to trade for a reliever, but they apparently
38:32
said no. So what do you guys think about
38:36
like, Rocky, you just mentioned that they might trade a bell to
38:42
save Painter. But do you think Painter is
38:44
available in the right scenario if it's for the right player?
38:50
I I think painter is untouchable man.
38:53
That's what I thought, yeah. That's, that's that's what I
38:57
thought. Like when those first rumors
38:58
came out, I didn't, I kind of didn't believe them.
39:01
Yeah. Well, also, you know who else I
39:05
think is untouchable? Is Aiden Miller the third
39:10
baseman of their future? So yeah, he's.
39:13
Good too, yeah. So give credit to to Preston
39:18
Mattingly, Dave Dombrowski and Matt Klintek in that
39:21
organization of how they built that team.
39:24
Like I know. And you have to also remember
39:26
the Phillies are not getting that young.
39:28
Bryce Harper's turning 33 this year and Kyle Schwarber, I
39:31
believe, is turning 31 this year.
39:34
He's said to be afraid of Trey Turner's 32 this year.
39:37
JT Romuto is a free agent after this year.
39:40
I believe he's what, 3rd going to be 34?
39:42
They do have a catcher in the system.
39:45
His last name is Tate, I believe, right.
39:47
So yeah, I, I, I'm with you, Toby.
39:51
I do think the Phillies are on. Andrew Painter is untouchable,
39:55
right? Eduardo Tate, That's right.
39:57
So I do think those three are untouchable.
40:00
But I do think Justin Crawford is going to be a trade
40:02
candidate. I do think Dante Nori could be a
40:07
trade candidate because. Knowing and I'm going to give
40:11
you another underrated player who gets traded to is Arun
40:15
Escobar. I think so this is what's
40:18
important with the Phillies. They they have the opportunity
40:23
to go win if they can make the right pieces possible, right.
40:27
They got their rotations so good.
40:29
Like, like I told you, Rangers wars free agent afterth year,
40:32
Christopher Sanchez signing Zach Wheeler is going to retire after
40:36
2027. So that to me is their window
40:39
pretty much after after Wheeler. And we don't know what the CBA
40:42
is going to be, which we're going to get to the next
40:44
question. But to me, I think the Phillies
40:48
are going to be very aggressive on buying right.
40:51
And for them, this is a great opportunity because you look at
40:55
the Dodgers pitching, which I do think they're going to add as
40:58
well with starting pitching or relief pitching help because
41:00
they're they're they're just like bowling balls when it comes
41:03
to injuries. They have not much of A choice.
41:06
And they got to do better on upgrading because they thought
41:09
that they could all address it in one offseason.
41:11
But that's not how it works, right?
41:12
Because you go with what you have and then see what your
41:15
deficiencies are. And they, the Dodgers think
41:17
that, you know, it's hard to do things to trade because they
41:20
don't want to give up assets. Well, I mean, that's the reality
41:23
of why there's a trade deadline for a reason, right?
41:26
So. So league's current CBA expires
41:29
on December 1st, 2026. And the people have long seen,
41:35
you know, the last CBA negotiations is kind of a means
41:39
to the end of this one. And officials are are are set.
41:44
They were sent to discuss both adding a salary cap and a salary
41:47
for the next agreement, but that's going to be obviously
41:50
complicated. So my question to you guys is
41:53
how do you feel? How do you feel like the future
41:55
of Major League Baseball is going heading into these CBA,
42:00
the next CBA, expiring or negotiating?
42:04
Sorry. I think most casual fans would
42:07
probably say baseball as a whole is trending down, but I would
42:09
argue in the opposite direction and say it's trending up because
42:13
of a lot of reasons that we talked about already on the
42:15
show, that the game is just getting younger.
42:17
We're seeing guys come from the college level and start to make
42:20
an impact really quick. It's a younger sport now.
42:24
We're seeing these guys that are just coming up with ridiculous
42:28
tools, ridiculous skill, just all these guys are fun to watch.
42:31
The Pcas, the Jack Caglione's like all these different types
42:35
of players are becoming so much fun to watch and they're rising
42:38
into superstars that this new generation of baseball talent I
42:41
think is going to make the sport way more fun to watch just on a
42:43
daily basis. But I think, you know, we need
42:48
obviously some kind of change with this new agreement.
42:52
I hope there is some kind of salary floor and, and salary
42:55
cap, maybe even implemented. I'd rather a salary floor, but
42:59
even like something like, I don't know how likely like an
43:03
international draft would be for.
43:06
I'm trying to think of what else I've heard of like Ben like kind
43:10
of talked about, but maybe like like we already talked about,
43:13
you know, free agency and service time manipulation.
43:15
There needs to be some kind of adjustment to that, I feel like.
43:17
But I feel like they're in a good spot in terms of, you know,
43:21
where the talent is in the store.
43:23
And I think if the talent's good, you'll have the
43:25
viewership. So I think baseball is a sport
43:29
is fine regardless of what's going to happen with this, this
43:31
new CBA. But those are some changes I'd
43:34
like to see implemented for sure.
43:37
The ABS system, challenge system can't come enough any sooner.
43:41
The way umpire officiation officiating has happened, You
43:46
look at the fact that that it's costing a lot of teams, a lot of
43:50
games, right? And I think that's important.
43:53
I don't know if the umpire union is doing this intentionally,
43:55
right? So you have to look at it this
43:59
way. Players, players want to get
44:03
paid. There will never be a salary cap
44:05
because the last time they tried to do that, that ended up to be
44:08
a strike for the PA and we didn't see baseball till late
44:11
April and a lot they lost a lot of money.
44:16
At the end of the day, you have to get to the point that you
44:21
can't afford to lose games. But unfortunately that's the
44:24
case because because the fact that it's just the way it's just
44:29
the way it is. Tony Clark and and Rob Manfred
44:33
don't even see eye to eye. And apparently the the P, the
44:38
PA, the players association wasn't happy and they fired
44:41
Bruce Meyer, right? Or is it or is that the owners?
44:44
No, the MOB, right, The MOB fired Bruce Meyers, right?
44:47
One of their main guys when it came to the negotiation tactics,
44:51
right? So, so overall, you got to look
44:54
at it this way. You got to, they got to get this
44:56
right because one, the small market teams need to spend more.
45:01
I think that to me is more important than anything else
45:03
because The thing is like, if you're going to, if you're going
45:06
to run an organization, you have to have a balance, abort both.
45:09
And I believe that MLB try to cut down on on employees, right
45:14
when it comes to like scout departments and stuff.
45:16
And still that's not even working right.
45:18
Like look at the Guardians, for example.
45:20
The Dolans are one of the richest owners in baseball and
45:23
and they still yet to spend like look, they even shredded salary
45:26
and they used the Jays as a bank loan, trading away Jimenez and
45:30
Mao straw. But I mean, you got to spend to
45:33
win, in my opinion. You got to you got to spend it
45:35
the right way. That's why I like the Dodgers
45:38
are always going to be the daughter.
45:39
The Yankees always going to be at the Yankees, right?
45:41
The Jays are finally starting to do that, right?
45:43
Because they have no, not much of A choice because now you're
45:45
building around flat and look at the team like the Orioles.
45:48
They don't spend and this is their backlash, right at the end
45:51
of the day, right. So I think it's important to
45:53
have a little bit of both. But like you said, the CBA is
45:56
going to be a thing that's going to be talked about these next
45:59
coming months to till till the end.
46:02
And hopefully, you know, we see bait, we see baseball starting
46:06
27, right? So we'll see.
46:11
Yeah, when it comes to the CBA, we've always been told they're
46:16
kind of it's just kind of, you know, we're going to be in for a
46:20
long one, But I I hope that's not the case because I agree
46:24
with what Toby said about being, you know, the the game is in
46:28
such a good direction with the young talent nowadays.
46:31
It's like so many good young players and it's just it's
46:35
everywhere, man, right up through low A rated, even in the
46:40
like the FCL, the ACL leaks like right up through to AAA.
46:45
Like it's just a ton of three up to a ton of talent, man.
46:49
So and and like you said, like we talked about earlier, teams
46:53
are more inclined to call up their young talent much sooner
46:56
these days than in prior years. So I think the sports in a great
47:01
direction. Let's hope that the the people
47:03
running the sport can can keep it on track.
47:09
Yeah, well said. Well, Toby Shulman, we
47:12
appreciate you being here. We thank you for being a guest
47:15
man. We had a great time being here,
47:17
even though we had a little bit of technical difficulties.
47:19
But we're good, right? So where can we find you?
47:22
So social media and everywhere else.
47:25
Yeah, just on Twitter at T Shulman Report and I also do
47:28
podcast and some some other type of baseball content with Ethan
47:32
Penn OPS baseball on Inside the Diamond.
47:34
So you could find us on YouTube and Twitter under that name as
47:36
well. But thank you guys for having
47:38
me. This is a lot of fun.
47:40
Yeah, man, thanks for joining us.
47:42
It was it was real fun having you.
47:44
It was an honor to have you. You do great work.
47:47
I love your tweets. I love your content so keep up
47:51
the good work and again, sorry for the lateness of me showing
47:54
up, but I'm glad we got this done today and hopefully we can
47:58
get you back down the road man. Yeah, I'd love to whenever,
48:01
whenever you guys want me back on, let me know.
48:02
I'd love to come back on and just, you know, talk some
48:05
baseball. Maybe post trade deadline we can
48:07
get something figured out. But I know you guys got a lot,
48:09
you know, scheduled in the future.
48:10
So whenever I'm obviously down to come back on here and always
48:14
talk about some baseball for you guys.
48:15
So thank you again and then thank you for those kind words.
48:18
No, we thank you man. We will definitely want you
48:20
back. We'll we'll figure it out.
48:22
But we will place a description below where you can find Toby
48:25
Shulman and his podcast with with his Co host and colleagues.
48:29
But till next time, take care be kind to each other.
48:32
Signing off for the Sports Ave. Twisted podcast on Sunday, June
48:35
22nd, 2025. None.